The Progress., 1887-12-24

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NOW YOU'VE DONE IT."
| it back The pistol report was In his own
| brain She never had a doubt of what was
| done. The whole thing was distinct. posi-
tive, swift, like bolt of lightning down the
| sky. The mans body came down with
| thump upon Steve's earthen floor.
Lets get him into bed" said Steve,
| whispering, and whitened through all his
auburn touzle by this catastrophe.
| But the woman waved him back.
| Il didn't mean to-" solemnIy stated the
! lone man. IL
You didn't do it." she groaned, rocking
the head on her arm HE would have
killed you il you hadn't turned his pis-
| tol. Oh, it had to come to this-it was COM
| ing for years-it, had to be one of us-and
| now wish it was myself"
| All of Steve's examin alton Of heart and
pulse and eyeball were of no avail The
| man had died Instantly. His wife shrunk
| with him from the examining touch Her
| cloak fell to the ground. Her beautiful
| wild face was pressed against the dead fore
head She shed no tears. But Steve turned
his back and stood still He could not en-
| dure to look at her
The roar of wind on the hills, and the
snow driving against his fire, suggested to
| his mind the necessity Of shutting the door,
He got bit OF stone and drove the hinges
back to place making as little noise as pos
! slble. Then he closed it on it's wooden
| latch. But some underlined Difference to the
| late wishes of that man on the floor kept
| him from putting up bar.
| It also came to his mind that he would
have to go to Gallagher's for help. So think
ing, he began to put on his tattered over
| coat and wrap his feet and legs The woman
| sat still, moaning, with her eyes fixed on
the face against her shoulder.
/! At the post-mortem examination it ap-
! peared that the pistol ball had ranged up.
ward through the brain The body was
brought on a litter across the snow and the
mountain next day, and undertakes came
from Portland to embalm and inclose it fo1
it's last journey.
/ Until her friends arrived she depended
upon the lone man. He enlisted the Gal
! aehers to shelter and watch over her like q
| child and he bore all the brunt of inquiry
| He telegraDhed to the addresses she gave
him. and solemnly escorted from the train
to her door group who arrived at the end
of two days
And very grand people they were A SEN
ator, and a Judge, millionaire and the
| Judges wife, a woman almost as beautiful
as the widow They made brief lingering,
but the inhabitants were able to gather
some satisfaction from them The Judge,
who did the talking, admitted that the de-
ceased had been subject to violent moods
and at such times his wife stood in extreme
terror of him. The Judge was in a state Of
J cOmnl9cQnf rQEiCrr at;inro Ia hn
| glad the fellow would never be able to chase
that young girl as far from home again
She had run before and had always taken to
! The Wilderness He did not like to kick
man when man was down, but truth was
mighty and would prevail, and the truth
in this case was that the deceased ought to
have fourished his pistol in his own face
long before he did
The lone man stood on the railroad plat
form and helped lift a long box into the
baggage car while the widow and her
friends were embarking He was too shy
to bid her farewell, and she allowed herself
to be helped to her place as if she had for
gotten him. But she had not forgotten him.
She threw up her window and drew him
| with beckoning fingers
Steve came slouching under the window.
He felt abject beneath that high bred beau
tiful face which seemed to look beyond him.
| Goodbye, Mr.. Barrymore. Thank YOU .
she said, taking hold of his hand
4 The lone man felt that she left paper
IN his hand, but he gave no sign of having
/ received any thing until the train had
i steamed away, and was lost among the
windings Of the hills The lone man then.
! went cautiously up the mountain bit, and
stood behind a rock to unfold his relic. @
4 1t was draft from Antonia Smith to
i Stephen Barrymore, for sum OF
money far beyond his modest dreams OF
wealth.
He was too shrewd to brag about it, or.
show the token in its unsubstantial state.
He went next day to Portland. and nre.
sented it at bank, where it was dnlv
honored And, shortly thereafter his
chums around Galagner's were telling each
i other that Sieve Barrymore had thrown un
his claim, and gone to San Francisco, and
that was the last that would be heard Of
Steve Barrymore on the Columbia
/. Ii was not the last, however For, the
4 next year, salmon packer went down ia
San francisco, and happened to meet the
lone man So he had Christmas nights
4 story to tell of him at Galagher's next
4 ball 4 IS. >e n
Why. steve's getting rich down there.
boys, said this envoy. He showed me q
,ll.s puAu1ns Ao oWneu, ana ne'S got an Office
that's carpeted, and he deals in stocks. and
them big fellers seem to know him. He
wears blue neckties, and it leaked out he's
takln dancin lessons, and, with all that.
hes the uneasiest miserable fellow you
ever saw i didn't say any thing, but L
klnowed he was after that Widow Smith.
you recollect; and I'll bet, before he gets
through his little dance, he'll wish he was
Dack On the lone mans old claim with his
toes 70 the cabin lire once more. .